Folks, I don’t know how many times I’ve stressed this here, posted articles on Facebook detailing the dangers to both cats and wildlife when cats are allowed to free-roam, lectured people who bring me cat-attacked wildlife…and yet it still happens. I still get cat-attacked critters, and there’s just NO excuse for it. None.

This gorgeous mourning dove—and doves are among the gentlest, most easily stressed songbirds—was attacked by a cat. He was lucky (and yes, he’s male—the males tend to have a bluish head and rosy throat; the females tend to have a brownish head and throat) in that he “only” lost all but one of his tail feathers and most of the feathers on the right side of his body, along with sustaining several nasty-looking but superficial gashes. His luck continued with discovery by someone who cared enough to seek help for him and volunteers who transported him to LWR so we could begin medicating him immediately. Recall, if you will, that cat saliva and claws contain bacteria designed to break down flesh, so cat bites or scratches left untreated on wildlife result in death, usually within 48 hours.​Fortunately, this sweet fellow is doing well, albeit confined to a small cage to prevent stress injuries—mourning doves stress easily and will pace, slam their bodies into the cage and even self-mutilate if the stress levels get too high. As soon as he’s off meds, he’ll go into the songbird flight until there’s sufficient feather re-growth to allow for release.

And that brings me back to my rant. People, I submit to you that if you allow your cat to roam freely, you a) care nothing about our native wildlife and b) care very little about your cat and are NOT a responsible cat owner.

Why do I say that? Well, on the first point, numerous studies have proven that free-roaming outside cats wreak unholy havoc on our native wildlife—and don’t you DARE give me the old “my cat doesn’t hunt” trope. It’s a bald-faced lie. Cats are predators. It’s their nature to hunt—and well-fed housecats are more successful hunters than strays because they’re not as desperate for food.

On the second point, let’s look at the dangers a free-roaming cat faces, shall we? It’s easier just to list those dangers:

Being hit by car

Being poisoned, intentionally or accidentally

Being shot, maimed and/or tortured by the psychopathic little bastards who comprise all too large a portion of our population

Being attacked by larger predators such as dogs, coyotes and even great horned owls. Yeah, a great horned owl can tote off a 9-pound cat.

Being in fights with other cats, resulting in wounds that abscess (see bacteria, above…)

Exposure to the elements: rain, heat, cold

Exposure to and infestation with parasites such as roundworms, ear mites and God-knows-what else

It’s a widely-cited statistic that outdoor or indoor-outdoor cats have significantly shorter lives, managing to survive around 4 years on the average. An indoor-only cat, on the other hand, can live up to 25 years.There are numerous ways to keep an indoor-only cat entertained, and the Internet is bursting with blueprints for “catios” if you insist that your cat MUST have access to the outdoors.

And for the record, as I’ve said on numerous occasions, I love cats. I have three cats of my own. I also love wildlife. For the safety of both the wildlife around my house and my cats, my moggies are indoor-only. None of them seems deprived or unhappy; on the contrary, they’re cool in the summer and warm in the winter, have constant access to plentiful fresh food and water, altogether too many toys…

It IS possible to love cats and wildlife, and it IS possible to have both in your life—as long as you take appropriate measures to ensure the safety of both.

Okay, off the soapbox now…​It’s pretty definite the hummer’s not gonna make migration. That wing hasn’t healed to allow for flight, as you can see in the photos below, and hummers generally aren’t good candidates for educational birds because when they’re unflighted, they’re prone to develop foot and leg problems. Their tiny little legs and feet aren’t meant for long periods of perching.

​The screeches will be live-prey tested this week, as the weather forecast is looking good for a potential release if they pass the live-prey test. Meanwhile, they all congregate at one end of the flight when I walk in to feed them, and then as I’m putting the food out, the female, who’s the nosiest and most aggressive of the three, perches above my head, waiting to snag her mouse as soon as I walk away. Cheeky little bugger!

If all, or even a majority, of outraged victims would come out from behind walls of passivity, apathy, fear, and inertia together we could stop this "mad hatter" rule of, by, and for the thoughtless, mean-spirited, narcissistic few.

The behavior of cat owners who throw their cats outside and cat feeding outdoor hoarders is irresponsible, oozing a sense of self entitlement regardless of the terrible consequences for everyone else. Their greatest concern isn't even for the cats that suffer and die horribly on the streets. They deny and attempt to discredit the science and testimony that contradict their empty, self serving claims.

TNRe-abandon exists to satisfy the sick need of cat feeding outdoor hoarders, maintain populations of cats, and fill the pockets of the national organizations that promote it, such as Alley Cat All Lies, Not Best Friends, PetStupid, NotHumaneSUS, SPCA (Soc for the Promotion of Cruelty to Animals), to name but a few who make millions promoting TNRe-abandon and its parent company Nokill (and in the case of PetStupid, BILLIONS from the sale of cat food and paraphernalia).

It is immoral for the TNRe-abandon crowd to destroy the animals I love and that you love in favor of their own; immoral to expect that we will sacrifice the animals we love in favor of theirs; immoral to force us to accept their animals on our property; immoral to put our health in jeopardy from the diseased feces their cats expel in yards, gardens, schools, shopping centers, restaurants, medical facilities, parks, and public buildings.

Furthermore, those who support TNRe-Abandon should stop calling themselves animal rights advocates. They should portray themselves as what they are: cat advocates, since they ignore and deny the annual torture and slaughter of billions of birds and small mammals, who are - ANIMALS.

Reply

Laurens Wildlife Rescue

10/13/2015 02:59:21 pm

Hey Sarah! Some--not all, but a few--animal groups are beginning to see that TNR is NOT a humane solution for feral/abandoned cats, but there's still a long way to go. And I'd argue that TNR advocates are NOT cat advocates; they're in it, as you mentioned to begin with, for their own egos. It has nothing to do with the welfare of the cats and everything to do with making them look "saintly". My philosophy on companion animals is a) if they're not sharing your house, they're not companions and b) if you cannot afford timely vet care for them, you don't need pets of any kind. TNR advocates can't meet either requirement, and I therefore submit that their activities are actually a form of animal cruelty, NOT animal advocacy.

(For those who are unaware, Sarah runs Columbus Squirrel Rescue in Columbus, GA and has been battling her city government for about 5 years now on the issue of TNR.)

Actually, Vonda, only 2 years, and I am making progress. Forced the city into having the public discussion that never was; It took place on Sept 29 as a council work session. They did not want this and went so far as to bring in Peter Wolf, who, as usual, denied the science against TNR and tried to discredit it. I sat listening as they tried to twist, deceive, and uttered outright lies, none of which came as a surprise.

Our presentation consisted of: cats and public health - Dr. Judith Milcarsky, Daytona Beach vet who is the director of the USDA study on toxo in vets and dogs, and a national speaker on toxoplasmosis; Dr. Chris lepczyk, auburn prof and author of a study on TNR as a management program (not) who also disclosed how the TNR liars cherry pick scientific articles while ignoring the conclusions that do not favor TNR (used one of Levy's papers and the Rome study that concludes with "(TNR) is a waste of time, money, and effort"); Dr. Joel McNeal, Kennesaw stat univ who explicated how cat feeding increases cat densities and populations and attracts wildlife into urban areas; and Christy Reeves, a rehabilitator from Canton, who described how toxo that she contracted as a child has affected her life.

The TNR presentation was, as usual, filled with illogical connections, emotional language, deceptive statements, and outright lies without offering any credible support for their claims. We presented the science against TNR and logical sequences, all supported by science, testimony, and experience. I hope the public observed the differences between them and us. One of my councilors who is on our side nailed them on the rabies vaccination issue during the council discussion that followed the presentations. We have future plans, it didn't end there.

I video taped the session, then divided it into 6 segments which can be watched individually, them posted them on my youtube account, accessed at

My first comment got away, so here it is again. I agree that TNR is problematic...there was a brouhaha last year because someone wanted to preserve a "colony" near Jone's Beach of all places. But what is the alternative? Mass euthanasia of homeless cats is not very appealing either. Unless we can come up with an alternative to leaving them outside or killing them all, nothing is going to change.

Reply

Laurens Wildlife Rescue

10/13/2015 07:54:40 pm

A large part of the solution, Ann, is for people to take responsibility for their pets--cats and dogs--and have them spayed/neutered at an early age. This prevents unwanted litters and puppy/kitten "dumping"--which is what leads to the development of colonies of feral cats and packs of wild dogs.

Our disposable society has extended that concept of "when it's no longer useful/amusing, toss it" to animals, sadly, and when they become too much trouble or they turn up pregnant because they were allowed to free-roam and never spayed/neutered to begin with--or they "just don't match the new furniture" (God's honest truth; I heard this excuse used when I volunteered at my local shelter), people who don't wanna pay the surrender fees at shelters will just dump their erstwhile "beloved" pets like so much trash.

What's the solution? Long-term, it's massive educational campaigns to raise awareness of what constitutes responsible pet ownership. Short-term, it's trap and test ferals for FeLV and FIV, which can be vaccinated against but are generally a death sentence once a cat has them, euthanize those that test positive (which would be the vast majority of most feral cat colonies) so they can't continue to spread the diseases, and assess the healthy cats for their potential to make good pets. Some can be domesticated and adopted--I had a former feral who was an absolute sweetheart--and some will never be tamed--my sister attempted to tame a feral and ended up with a completely wild cat hiding in her house. It took 2 months of setting a humane trap to get him out. "Untameable" cats would also need to be put down.

An ideal solution? Nope. But it's the best we have thus far.

Reply

Ann Feldman

10/13/2015 10:30:30 pm

Agreed that people have to be pressured as to how to be responsible pet owners. (Good luck with that.) In NYC a pet cannot be adopted from an agency, pet store, shelter etc. unless it has been neutered. And your idea of euthanizing ferals which are FLV positive is a very good idea. But for now the large population of homeless cats who are healthy have to be dealt with, and realistically since they cannot all be adopted TNR seems to be the only humane alternative. At least they will not be able to reproduce themselves. I also feel this works better in urban areas. My last cat was a feral (geez was she ever) who I found as a 6 month old kitten with horrendous injuries to her pelvis and leg. Once allowed out of my bathroom, after her first cast change, she would hide all day in places you would not believe...we never saw her. It took time and patience and months and months for her to come around. First, she would come into our bedroom late at night and stare at us from a safe distance. Then, after all the medical treatment was finished, she would sit on the back of the sofa, where she could escape under it quickly, and watch us. We had decided that no matter what, she could live with us in whatever manner she chose...even if she never tamed. At least she would be safe and fed. She eventually became the biggest mushball we had ever had, though she always hid from others. She was ours for 16 wonderful years and we still miss her.

Laurens Wildlife Rescue

10/13/2015 11:45:50 pm

I still argue that TNR is NOT humane. You're spaying/neutering and thereby preventing more wild-born kittens, but then the cat is dumped right back into an environment where every day is a struggle to survive. How is that humane? Is a lifespan of maybe 4 years, during which the cat is constantly fighting the elements, predators, vehicles and other cats really the kindest option for that cat? I'd argue that humane EU is better than a short, misery-filled life. Again, ideally every cat should have a loving home, but since that's probably never gonna be the case, humane EU is better than a short life that's nothing more than a daily struggle to survive. And it's better for our wildlife, too.

Reply

Ann Feldman

10/14/2015 03:07:18 pm

Yes, the life of a homeless cat is frequently nasty, brutish and short as the saying goes. I think, however, that we are each looking at this from different directions, yours rural (in which case your point is well taken) mine urban. In the city, my understanding is that most TNR colonies are not simply dumped back. There are volunteers that feed and monitor them. For the most part, they are not in places where you have a lot of "wildlife" unless you count pigeons and mice as wildlife. For instance, I know of one behind a local library. The cats, last time I saw them, were well fed and healthy looking, and there seemed to be fewer of them as well, perhaps an indication that there are no new cats entering the colony. Anyway, I don't find mass euthanasia a good solution. Let us hope that another alternative to both TNR and death occurs to someone. Certainly it would be worthy of a Nobel prize.

Reply

Laurens Wildlife Rescue

10/14/2015 04:55:26 pm

It's true we're looking at the issue through rural vs. urban lenses; however, feeding and providing some sort of makeshift shelter for urban cats does nothing to lessen their risk of abuse, being hit by cars, becoming infested with life-threatening parasites, disease, etc. Neither TNR nor mass EU are ideal solutions, but having volunteered at my local shelter and seen the condition of feral cats that were trapped and brought in, I'd still argue that EU is the kinder of the two options. Four years of hell versus a mercifully quick, painless death...There will be no solution as long as people keep being irresponsible pet owners, I'm afraid...